I’m excited for our two new listings this week!
180 S Vista is an extra large Spanish house + backhouse (over 4000 sq ft) with a grassy yard in prime Miracle Mile on a quiet street very close to The Grove. Downstairs is a sunshine filled living room with fireplace and an adjacent family room (also with a fireplace), a large square dining room, a kitchen with an eat-in breakfast area (both overlooking the yard), 2 bedrooms and 1.5 baths. Upstairs is a master suite with an adjacent sitting room and a street facing porch and bath. Also upstairs is an additional 3 beds, 2 baths, and one more bonus room. The garage is converted to a full studio apartment with a kitchen, eat-in area, and bedroom. The esteemed owner, Rabbi Gruman, lived well into his 90’s and he taught my girls at the local high school almost until he passed away. My girls were challenged, inspired, and amused daily by Rabbi Gruman’s lessons; his sharp wit, incredible sense of lightness and humor, and his positive upbeat outlook on life taught them as much as the knowledgeable lessons he imparted. I once went to the girls’s school for a parent event and in the lobby of the school building, Rabbi Gruman called out to me in his signature loud deep voice that he wrote in his will that when he dies he wants me to sell his house. I’m always motivated to do my absolute best to sell every house I have the extreme honor to represent, but this time I am especially honored and I am looking forward to meeting the next steward of Rabbi Gruman’s laughter and life filled home for much of the almost 1 century that he was alive.
424 N Highland is a house that we’ve leased very quickly each time we’ve put it up for lease. It is now back and better than ever with a new bathroom added and all the old bathrooms newly remodeled. The house is 1 story with 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms and there’s an additional full bedroom suite outside in the backhouse. A large living room, dining room, and family room round out the main house. The backyard is magical with a pool that just got a new baja step, a jacuzzi, and a slide with running water like a waterpark. There’s both grassy areas and hardscape. There’s lots of off-street parking in the circular driveway and the house was just painted a current handsome gray color. Living in this house is like living on vacation and it’s unusual and unexpected to find so much utility and space in a one story house. It’s an extreme honor to be working with these owners for the eighth time.
We sold 535-537 N Poinsettia this week off market. It was an honor to represent both the buyer and the seller on the sale. It was especially meaningful because the seller is Lisa Hutchins’ brother and Lisa referred the sellers to us; I’ve admired and respected Lisa and her work for years and I felt the same working with her family. It’s our second time working with the buyer and he’s wonderful too. The duplex is Spanish and updated. My favorite part is the large master bath on the owner’s side that was inspired by a bath the owners loved when they saw it on vacation in Mexico so they came home and made themselves the same in their home. I love that both buyer and seller are so excited with their purchase and sale; it’s our clients’ exuberance and excitement that excites me about my job each day!
Like so many people here and around the world, I haven’t slept much since learning of the tragic death of Leora Azoory, at such a young age of 33, on Wednesday, in a fatal car crash while driving in Colorado on a snow covered road on her 11th anniversary ski trip. It’s unfathomable that Leora’s 5 kids ages 11 years to 7 months lost their hardworking, smart, beautiful, devoted mom. Leora’s tenant just moved out and we were scheduled to walk her vacant unit at 1:00 pm Thursday. 11,609 people donated a total (so far) of 1.55M on TheChesedFund.com page in such a short time. On Thursday, within hours of setting it up, the next available meal to cook for the family on the meal train site was May 19. It’s touching that we live in a world where over 11,000 people signed up to donate funds to help and well over 100 people signed up immediately to cook food for the family. And then there’s the irrefutable truth that even 11,600 people donating money and over 100 people cooking food can’t fill the shoes of one devoted woman who was the best mom and also the most valuable employee at her same place of work for so many years. Moms are simply not replaceable even in a world of kindness with so many who care.
At a close friend’s son’s Bar Mitzvah a few days ago, as the adorable mini guest of honor confidently performed, there was a beaming couple the age of grandparents watching the little boy nail his speech looking like they would burst with pride. It was a couple who connected with the little boy’s dad as a mentor many years earlier, way before the dad got married or had any children. They stayed connected and close from that time to this day, for so many years, and they wholeheartedly earned the title of honorary grandparents for loving this family for multiple decades. I have a feeling these honorary grandparents get some of the credit for the confidence, beaming smile, hard work + dedicated practice, and smug delivery of that adorable little young boy’s speech. I think being showered with love naturally has that kind of effect on people for generations.
My block looked like Richard Scarry’s “Cars and Trucks and Things That Go” this week as ground broke on a brand new construction site. All the kids – and me! – were fascinated by the mixer trucks, city trucks of inspectors and DWP officials, the massive drill, booms, cranes, and excavators that lined our street! I’m excited to watch the process and the progress and it will be cool to see the transformation of a vacant lot to a piece of art! I know that watching the process for the estimated two years of construction will reinforce for me as a real estate agent that there’s amazing value for buyers in buying houses that are move-in-ready, pristine and beautiful, post the construction process. And I love that my neighbors are on their way to the house of their dreams!
Cherry blossoms are blooming all over Los Angeles! Cherry blossoms are a symbolic flower of the spring, a time of renewal, and the fleeting nature of life. The life of a cherry blossom is extremely short. After the cherry blossoms’ billowy beauty peaks at around two weeks, the blossoms start to fall. But they are a magnificent sight to behold right now driving through the streets! Just like the beautiful cherry blossoms, every moment of consciousness we have is a precious, fragile, and magnificent gift!
Have a spectacular weekend!
Xoxoxo,
Sheri
